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Upon arriving in New York, I had no idea what to expect from this program, the people in it, or my professor. I was very nervous, coming from a small New Hampshire town, about living in a city and probability of getting myself lost. So along with clothes and other provisions, I was given about a half dozen maps to aid me in my adventure through the city this semester. These maps, ranging in helpfulness, describe the locations of subway stations throughout the city's many precincts or the exact addresses of every FedEx or UPS shipping site in Manhattan or the names and locals of Manhattan's best restaurants and bars. I think my mother's reasoning behind purchasing these maps was that if I was ever to get lost then I could at least find my way to the closest FedEx or restaurant/bar and ask for directions. So far, life in the city has not been too bad. In fact it has been exciting! We have gone on a bunch of great field trips, and I met Diane Sawyer on Friday.

Everywhere you look in America there is a push to live together harmoniously, to respect and embrace differences, a push for greater and better things, progress in action and in thought. In New York City you live and are defined by this every single day. The America we all want is reflected in its five boroughs. Diversity on an unimaginable and beautifully immense scale. It is the vanguard of a future America that is seen both within and outside the nation and it leads by example.

Mark Masterson, visiting assistant professor of classics, led a one-day colloquium at The Philadelphia School of Psychoanalysis. This colloquium is an offering by the school for the continuing education of practicing psychoanalysts. He made a presentation of the sexual systems in the ancient world and the ways in which modern knowledge of them is limited by preconceptions and the nature of the evidence.

Assistant Professor of Mathematics Debra Boutin published a research article, "Convex Geometric Graphs with No Short Self-intersecting Paths," in Congressus Numerantium 160 (2003), pp. 205-214.  Her research shows that a graph that can be drawn in the plane with no short self-intersecting paths is guaranteed to have a vertex of small degree and therefore have to have an edge set whose size is linear in the number of vertices.

E.B. White, in his article “Here in New York,” describes the difference between living in the city and being a visitor.  I always knew the city from the commuter side, but for the past week, I have woken up to the sounds of the sirens and the wail of the boats; I have looked out the window at the Statue of Liberty; I have grabbed an “A.M.” paper from the man outside the subway; and I have traveled from my apartment with the herds of people going to work or school.  I understand why so many people view the city as overpowering.

I remember the first time I came to New York City; I was a freshman and visiting some high school friends at NYU.   From a distance, the city seemed safe, compact, and relatively small and the underground maze of Penn Station and the color coded alphabetical/numerical subway system did not faze me.  As we rode to Times Square, I thought that I could handle city life despite my rural Vermont roots.  Largely as a result of my sheltered childhood, I had a much skewed vision of New York from movies, too many episodes of Law and Order, songs, and the 9/11 images.

Being confined to the sick ward a.k.a. my 30th floor apartment has given me a interesting, albeit mildly - no significantly - claustrophobic view of the city.  I can look outside my window and see the harbor - ferries coming and going, tugboats and large boats navigating the waters and the changing shapes of the ice.

Associate Professor of Music Rob Hopkins has been elected president of SPEBSQSA, Inc., the Barbershop Harmony Society. Hopkins is a member of the Mohawk Valley chapter in the society's Seneca Land District. Before his election to president, Hopkins served the society for two years as executive vice president. He has been a member of the Society since 1976.

Thus far, my impression of New York City is one of socioeconomic polarization. Walking down 5th Avenue, you see stores with expensive merchandise and on the corner a homeless person begging for money. Part of the city seems to have more money than it can spend and others not enough to survive. The wealthy have managed to construct walls so that they need not interact with the poor. And even when the poor attempt to attract attention, they seem to be ignored. Where is the middle class in New York City? As I explore the city, I hope to find a bridge between the extremes.

My first week in NYC has been surreal. The city fears no one and has the ability to make the strongest man feel inferior. This has allowed me to realize that my experience will only be as positive as my attitude.  My fate rests in my own hands, and if I choose to do so, I will reign supreme. It is in my everyday interactions that I will assimilate into the “big city” culture. If I choose to sit back and wait for opportunity to strike, I may reach the end of this journey extremely dissatisfied.  I have left the routine of Hamilton College and immersed myself in this infinite city. The journey begins now, and I am proud to say that I am a part of this program. My internship is more than I could have ever asked for. The contacts I have made and will develop are invaluable, and the work environment allows me to enjoy my duties and keeps me eager to learn more.